Made in Puerto Rico: Studies in Popular Music

Made in Puerto Rico: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive introduction to the history, culture, and musicology of 20th and 21st century popular music in Puerto Rico. The essays in this volume, written by both local experts and leading scholars, contextualize under-researched areas of Puerto Rican popular music-making in relation to ideologies, aesthetics, and symbolism, and propose new ways of thinking about Puerto Rican musical cultures.

A groundbreaking introduction to Puerto Rican musical culture, the volume covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of popular music in Puerto Rico, while also going beyond conventional narratives. Rather than simply providing histories of key genres, these insightful essays focus on the ways in which Puerto Rican musicians reimagine their distinctive musical language as it transmutes from local practices into global expressions.

Offering both a survey of Puerto Rican popular music and pathways into deeper critical inquiry, Made in Puerto Rico is an essential resource for scholars and students of music and of Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Latin American, and African Diaspora Studies.

Hugo R. Viera-Vargas is Professor at the Universidad Albizu, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Associate Researcher at Colectivo de Estudios Musicales de Puerto Rico.

Noraliz Ruiz-Caraballo is Associate Researcher at Colectivo de Estudios Musicales de Puerto Rico, and Musical Director for Orquesta Jíbara Dr. Francisco López Cruz, Puerto Rico.

Errol L. Montes-Pizarro is Professor of Mathematics at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Cayey, and Associate Researcher at Colectivo de Estudios Musicales de Puerto Rico.

Jaime O. Bofill-Calero is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, and Associate Researcher at Colectivo de Estudios Musicales de Puerto Rico.

Noel Allende-Goitía is Associate Researcher at Colectivo de Estudios Musicales de Puerto Rico, and Lecturer of Comparative History of Music and Research Methodology at Armoniarte Escuela Superior de Educación Artística, México.